Lovin' in the kitchen - Sunday Paper

I found this article and thought it was cute and relevant. Many people who feel strongly about something will forget it in search of other characteristics in a partner..but when it comes down to it they're just not compatible. Food and cooking are at the top of my list. Food is so important that having a bond over it makes a relationship even more special.

Image Source

Luckily my boyfriend and I share a love for food and cooking..although I don't think I'll ever be at his level with spicy food (Who actually likes jalepenos?) We love spending time in the kitchen together even if we occasionally get in each other's way.

Our food from a trip to the Roxy's Grilled Cheese truck!

Farmer's Market Finds

I am obsessed with Farmer's Markets. So much great, local produce and super nice people..what's not to love? So obviously I was super excited when coming to BU I found out they had a weekly farmer's market!

 Last week when I ventured out, despite the rain, I found myself facing some interesting colored produce. I came home with a purple bell pepper and a white sweet potato. Oh yeah, who doesn't love weird colored food? Once I brought them home I couldn't even wait to cook with them so I used them in my lunch! I'm normally not a big pepper fan but I incorporated them into this dish so their flavor wasn't too noticeable.

I'm usually pretty bad a following recipes so I just randomly threw together a bunch of stuff I had so..bear with me as I try to make this into a coherent recipe. These values are totally adjustable to whatever you like, whatever veggies you have on hand, and this recipe can be made vegan by omitting the cheese. Also, if you want to use your own seasoning that's totally fine too..I didn't have time to mix up my own and I had a packet of taco seasoning on hand so I used that.

Alli's Taco Veggies with Cheese

- 1/2 medium sweet potato
- 1/3 C broccoli (can use frozen)
- 1/2 small bell pepper
- 1/3 C black beans
- 1/3 C roasted butternut squash
- 1/4 packet low sodium taco seasoning
- 1/2 C low fat shredded cheese

1. Microwave (or bake, or roast or whatever you like) the sweet potato and squash (I had left over roasted squash so I just used that) until it is fork tender.
2. Cut up the broccoli and par boil (or microwave if frozen), and strain+rinse the black beans.
4. Put diced pepper in a satuee pan with a couple table spoons of olive oil. Cook until softened.
5. Mix in all the other veggies and beans. Simmer for a few minutes.
6. Add the taco seasoning and about 1/2 - 3/4 C water. Simmer until most of the water has evaporated and sauce is thickened.
7. Put into plate/bowl/whatever and top with shredded cheese and let it melt. Yum!

Food Day Cooking

As Kelli mentioned here this past Monday was Food Day! So of course I spent my whole day in the kitchen!
I made both soup and quiche for the first time. Very exciting! I used this recipe for the quiche because I'm not a huge crust person. It was delish! I need to improve my crust-shaping skills but other than that it was eggy and cheesy goodness..with some veggies of course ;)

And as far as the soup goes..I didn't really use a recipe. Oops. I had some kale left over so I put that into a pot with some veggie broth, let it simmer for a bit and then added roasted butternut squash, white beans, broccoli and carrots - yum!

Milk and Cookies Updated

Ok..Milk and cookies..doesn't that just bring you back to being a kid and after-school snacks? Yum. Well cookies are fantastic as they are but why not give them a healthy boost? Whole grain cookies..yes please. Kelli and I work for Sargent Choice which is the healthy dining program at BU and they have a ridiculously good whole grain peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe. This past weekend I spent probably half of my time in my kitchen and I decided that it would be a perfect time to bake some. There was one small catch..I've been recently diagnosed with acid reflux so I'm not supposed to be eating chocolate right now. Sad as that may be, it turned out pretty well because it lead me to making whole grain peanut butter butterscotch cookies. Yup. These might be better than the original. So delicious!
I've provided some lovely photos below plus my updated version of the recipe. Enjoy! What are your favorite cookies to make?

Whole Grain Peanut Butter Butterscotch Cookies

Adapted from Sargent Choice Whole Grain Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 ¼ cups quick cooking oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chunky natural peanut butter
1/2 cup olive or canola oil
3/8 cup granulated sugar
3/8 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2/3 cup butterscotch

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, oats, baking soda and salt in small bowl.  Beat oil, peanut butter, sugars and vanilla extract in large mixing bowl until creamy.

2. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheet.

3. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks.

- Alli